Eggplant - Onion Chutney / Vankaya - Ullipaya Pachchadi

When preparing Andhra style Pachchallu (Chutneys), I find eggplants more versatile. They can be prepared alone or with other vegetables to bring on different, new flavors to the table each time.
In today's recipe eggplants are paired with onions and this is a mouth watering fusion of all flavors. Serve this with some hot rice and a tsp of ghee or as a relish along with Indian breakfasts, it tastes fabulous. This recipe is my SIL's and it turned out an excellent accompaniment to Tomato pooris.


You need:
6 purple, round brinjals/eggplants chopped into medium sized pieces or two cups of chopped eggplant.
One onion, finely chopped
Red chillies - 12
Coriander seeds - 1 Tbsp
Urad dal - 1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds (Methi) - 1/4 tsp
A little asafoetida powder
Jaggery powdered - 1 tsp
Tamarind extract - 4 tbsp - 1/4 cup (depending upon the sourness you prefer)
SaltOil
Preparation:

• Wash the eggplants and wipe them dry. Chop them into medium sized pieces.
• Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a saute pan and add the chopped eggplants to it. Fry them on low to medium heat till they are done.
• Heat two tsp of oil in a small pan and add urad dal and mustard seeds. When urad dal start to turn slightly red, add coriander seeds, red chillies and asafoetida. When coriander seeds start to turn brown and urad dal, fenugreek seeds have turned red, turn off the stove and transfer them to a plate.
• Heat another Tbsp of oil in the same pan and add finely chopped onions and fry them till they turn translucent.
• Now add the fried eggplant, spices, jaggery and required amount of salt to a blender and blend to a coarser consistency with out adding water. Then add onions and whizz/run the blender so that the onions are just blended with the eggplant mixture. You don't want the onions to get pureed.
• Remove and serve with hot rice and tsp of ghee or as a relish.

Note: If you need to add water to blend the chutney, transfer the contents to a pan and fry it on low heat for five to ten minutes.
For a tangy, spicy variation, see Eggplant - Green mango chutney.

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